


Salted Caramel

by queergirlElle



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Gay Mess Alex Danvers, Gay Mess Lena Luthor, Lena is socially awkward, Sexual Tension, Sugar Baby, Sugar Mama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24607321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queergirlElle/pseuds/queergirlElle
Summary: It wasn't Lena's fault, really. She liked spoiling her friends. She did have enough money for a lifetime of expensive meals and pretentious parties and would probably never have to think about a dollar twice.But that someone wanted to give her things in return... Well, that was new.ORAlex is Lena's sugar baby
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 108
Kudos: 472





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall/gifts).



> Happy Birthday to my dear friend @im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall ! Still waiting for you to become a bestselling author and be my sugar mama.
> 
> Hey guys! I know I've been absent for a while now, life can be stressful sometimes, but I'm back with a new story now! It will probably have three chapters, maybe more but I haven't finished it yet so I can't say for sure. But I've been wanting to write something like this for quite some time now and I'm excited to share it with you.   
> (Also this might just be a giant mess but I'm a bit out of practice so forgive me)  
> Enjoy! :)

Lena had always had a love hate relationship with public events like parties and such. She loved the attention but hated who gave it to her. She loved seeing what she had accomplished but she also knew that people usually didn’t focus on the important things.

And while she was surrounded by people congratulating her on her success, she couldn’t help but feel burned out by the shallowness of it all.

She forced her face into a professional smile as yet another reporter took a picture of her. Then she turned around and let out a little sigh.

“Ah Miss Luthor, there you are!” Her assistant Jess interrupted her thoughts. “Everything is ready now. The catering team just needs your signature on this form and Mr. Laurent asked if we could push back his speech 30 minutes. He’s disappeared into the bathroom quite a while ago and I decided not to ask.”

Lena wrinkled her nose at that but then quickly grabbed the sheet of paper out of Jess’ hands to sign it.

“But the R&D team is ready for their presentation?”

“Yes,” Jess assured with a quick nod. 

“Thank you, Jess,” she answered and was about to leave and great more guests when her assistant called her once more.

“Oh and one last thing! Maybe try to have some fun?” Jess gave her a hopeful smile which Lena responded to by rolling her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll try.”

During the entire evening, a professional smile was painted on Lena’s face. By now it was sort of second nature to her. It did bring her some kind of joy to walk around and talk to possible investors about matters that were close to her heart. Probably not the fun Jess was talking about, though.  
Her best friend, who would usually lighten up the mood during these long and draining parties was out of town for the week and to say Lena missed her was an understatement.

After a while of mingling, and escaping from yet somebody else who proposed a merger of their companies, Lena sat down on a stool near the end of the bar, hoping that nobody would bother her for at least a few minutes. Her tight dress made sitting quite uncomfortable and she scolded her past self for making this choice.

The barkeeper placed a glass of whiskey in front of her and she gave him a silent nod in return. She loved it if people knew what she wanted or needed right away. 

Lena’s took another sip of her drink, taking a moment to appreciate how good it felt to have the cold, bitter liquid run down her throat. 

She looked around the room, trying to remember who she still had to talk to. Her eyes fell on a young woman in a rather flattering dress. Lena couldn’t remember ever seeing her before. She stood out like a sore thumb in this crowd. She was taller than most of the men around her, her red hair drawing everybody’s eyes in. She was standing next to Max Lord, owner of a rival company, and talking to two people of the marketing team.  
Lena internally groaned. Yet another person she’d rather avoid. 

She continued roaming her eyes around the room but after a few seconds, they fell on the beauty next to Max once again. Her smile seemed to jump between genuine and forced every few seconds and Lena instantly felt sorry for her. 

Then Max pulled her closer and let his arm travel down the back of her dress. But before his hand could reach down far enough, the woman had already slapped it away. Lena couldn’t help but find this entire act amusing.

With a kind smile the woman excused herself from the conversation and quickly turned away. Lena’s eyes followed the young woman walking to the bar, directly into her direction. 

“I’ll have another whiskey neat, and whatever she is having,” Lena said to the barkeeper before the other woman could even open her mouth.

“The same for me,” she said quickly and said down on the empty chair next to Lena’s, “thank you.”

“So how much is he paying you?” 

“Excuse me?”

The question had slipped out of Lena’s mouth before she had been able to control herself. Way to start a conversation.

“Max, how much is he paying so you don’t punch him in the face,” she nevertheless continued. “You seemed very tempted by the way.”

The redhead’s shoulders relaxed and her lips formed a small smile. She had seemed panicked for a moment and Lena scolded herself for coming on so strong. 

“Was it that obvious?”

Lena’s lips spread into a grin.

“He’s not, actually. Paying me, I mean,” the redhead said after she took a long sip from her glass. “But he promised me Tony Laudr would be here and he would introduce me to her. She’s been an icon of mine for years.”

“Ah yes, poor Tony got sick. I would’ve loved to talk to her as well.”

“That’s too bad,” the woman said and took another sip from her drink. “I wanted to ask her some questions about her newest book on inorganic chemistry. I even read it again before coming here tonight.”

That was one way to catch Lena’s interest. She herself had read that book and it certainly wasn’t easy to understand. She felt bad for assuming someone who looked like this couldn’t be smart at the same time.  
Lena could feel the other woman’s eyes on her and turned back to her. 

The woman started smirking. “What? Did you think I was only arm candy?” 

“Yes, actually,” Lena answered truthfully. “I’m sorry for assuming but I know Max’s type.”

Thankfully, the grin on the woman’s face stayed where it was. She didn’t seem offended at all.

“I know, I think sometimes he feels threatened by the fact that I have a brain.”

“Some men are so weak,” Lena said and her heart jumped when it made her companion laugh. 

They sat in silence for a moment but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. And then Lena realised that the last time she hadn’t been uncomfortable at one of these events… well, she couldn’t remember the last time. She was about to ask the woman next to her some more questions but the redhead spoke first. 

“Thanks for the drink,” she said while getting up from her chair. “But I have to get back to a very riveting conversation about sports cars.”

“Can I at least get your name?” Lena found herself asking.

“It’s Candy,” the woman answered, her eyes clearly mocking Lena, but she felt more intrigued by it that anything else.

“No offence, but you’re definitely not a Candy.”

“Oh, I do take offence.”

“Alex, babe, come here!” Max suddenly yelled all the way across the room.

“Ah damnit, he ruined it,” not-Candy said with an annoyed sigh. 

“Nice meeting you, Alex,” Lena grinned. 

Alex threw a quick smirk and wave at Lena and then turned around to walk into Max’s outstretched arms. A perfectly fake smile once again painted on her face.

“Goodnight, Miss Luthor. I’ll have the new contract ready on your desk when you come in Monday morning.”

“Thank you, Jess,” Lena said while trying to supress a yawn.

Her assistant gave her a friendly wave before she got into her car and drove off. Jess was truly one of a kind and Lena didn’t know how she would survive without her anymore. Her driver on the other hand…

Lena pulled her coat closer around herself. The chilly night air made her shiver. She was waiting for her driver to bring her car around but he was nowhere to be seen.

Most of the guests had already left and so Lena was left alone in front of the museum they had booked for the night.

“No, I’m not going home with you! We had a deal.”

The wind carried the angry voice over to where Lena was standing. She looked around to see where it came from and spotted Max and his date standing not far from her.

“It’s not my fault she didn’t show up!” Max shot back. 

Lena couldn’t see what Alex was doing but she seemed to be very angry.

“Come on, baby,” Max said and leaned closer to her face. “I’ll get you that new phone you wanted if you get in the car right now.”

The redhead sighed and Lena felt more intrusive than ever, watching this exchange.

“Not tonight, Max.”

“Stupid bitch,” he muttered and turned around.

Lena didn’t register that their conversation was over as she was still trying to wrap her head around the things that had been said. She only realized that she was very much visible behind that pillar when Alex walked right into her.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I…” The redhead opened and closed her mouth a few times. Her eyes fell to the side where Max’s car sped off into the distance. 

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Lena rushed out to defend herself. “I’m just waiting for my driver to bring the car around.”

The redhead looked at her with slightly panicked eyes. 

“I’m not a hooker.”

The statement stood between them like a wall of ice.

“I didn’t think you were,” Lena answered truthfully. 

After yet another second of uncomfortable silence, a car stopped right in front of them. Quickly, Lena pulled a business card out of her purse and handed it to Alex with a smile.  
“I just thought that if you’re looking for someone to treat you right you could give me a call.” 

This could possibly be the last thing Alex wanted to hear right now but Lena had to shoot her shot. The whiskey in her blood gave her unexpected confidence so she swallowed her panic back down and forced a professional look on her face.

“Goodnight, Alex.”

And with her head held high she walked away and got into her car. 

In no way would Lena have thought that she would ever hear from Alex again. Her sober mind had made her groan out loud the very next morning.  
She had known before that she was a mess around alcohol and pretty women. And human interaction in general clearly wasn’t her strong suit.

It was a few days later and Lena had already found herself knee deep in paperwork again. When she tried to lean back in her chair and rest her eyes for just a few seconds, her phone rang. It took everything for her not to throw it right out of the window.

“Yes?” She eventually answered, trying not to sound too annoyed.

“Miss Luthor, you have a call. A certain Miss Danvers?”

“Give me a second, Jess, then I’ll be ready,” Lena said without giving it a second thought. Probably another reporter, she was generally bad at keeping names in her head. She was better with numbers. 

After a few seconds the call got patched through.

“This is Lena Luthor.”

“You gave me your assistants number?”

Instantly, Lena got ripped from her thoughts. “Sorry, who is this?”

“Alex? From the party…”

Suddenly, Lena’s heartrate spiked.

“Oh hi, yes. It’s actually easier to have someone else manage my calls,” Lena said, suddenly more nervous than before. “It sounds pretentious I know.”

Alex only snorted loudly in return. 

“I didn’t think you’d call, actually,” Lena confessed in a small voice. “I wasn’t the gentlewoman I usually am.”

“Eh it’s fine. I know it’s hard to believe but most people in the business world actually have little to zero social skills when it comes to normal life.” 

“Shocking news,” Lena responded, a smile unable to leave her face.

“I was actually just calling to let you know that I told Max to go fuck himself.”

She said those words with ease, with a certain air of professionalism that completely threw Lena off the tracks.

“God, I wish I could tell him that to his face,” Lena responded. “He’s been getting on my nerves for years now.”

“I can imagine. Can’t believe someone even recommended him to me.”

The second part of her sentence was muttered, as if it wasn’t supposed to be heard by anybody else. But nevertheless, it brought Lena back to her initial thought.

“I’m not trying to overstep here… but what exactly was that thing you had with Max? He wasn’t your boyfriend, was he?”

“Gosh no, I’d never date that prick,” she laughed but quickly turned quiet again. Alex sighed, thinking for a while. Lena was awaiting her answer with a rapid heartbeat.

“We had an arrangement. I’d go to events with him and do him… certain other favours in exchange for money or gifts.”

When Lena didn’t say anything, Alex suddenly got defensive.

“I’ve done this for a while now and I’m happy with it. Usually, people are good to me and it pays the rent.”

Before Lena could answer, her assistant walked in and interrupted her. “Miss Luthor, your four o’clock is here.”

“Look, Alex, I have to go now,” Lena said hurriedly. “But you can give my assistant your contact details and I’ll call you back.”

“Sure,” Alex answered, not sounding very sure.

Alex’s defeated voice stayed in the back of her head for the rest of the day. Lena didn’t want her to think that she thought less about her just because she was doing what she was doing. She didn’t. It just took her some time to process that information.  
As soon as Lena was back alone in her office, she asked Jess for Alex’s number and called her back before she could think otherwise.

“Hello?”

“So I’m not trying to make this weird but how should I process this information?”

“You nod, say ‘okay’ and move on with your life?”

Lena felt the need to roll her eyes once again.  
“Okay, I’m nodding.” And after a few seconds she added: “Can I have your paypal?”

“What?”

“I had a nice time talking to you and I don’t want you to worry about rent this month.”

“Lena,” Alex sighed. “This is not how it works.”

She was right, Lena had no idea how things worked. But throwing money at things or people was easy for her. And it usually solved her problems.

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Lena said quietly. “I just thought I could help you out, but I understand if you don’t want me to do that.”

“No, no you didn’t offend me. It’s just weird talking about this, I guess. I didn’t call because I hoped I could get money from you. I’d just be happy to talk about science to someone who can keep up.”

A relieved smile formed on Lena’s face.

“Okay, that sounds nice. I’d still like to know your paypal.”

It was late, later than usual, when Lena finally arrived home and got ready for bed. When brushing her teeth, she could barely keep her eyes open. She dragged herself into bed, asking herself once again why she always worked that late. 

Lena was about to put her phone away and turn off the bedside lamp, when a text from an unknown number came in. 

It was a simple _Thank you_ and Lena wondered for a second, who it was from, when another message came in. This time a photo was attached to it. All she could see was a cheeky grin, a lacy bra, and… not much room left for imagination. 

Lena gulped once and blinked a few times before quickly looking away. She smashed the phone down on the nightstand so hard that it was a miracle that it didn’t break.

This wasn’t what they had agreed on. In fact, they had agreed on nothing in the first place. Lena didn’t want Alex to think that she had to do something in return just because she had given her a bit of money. It felt… wrong.  
She tossed around in bed, trying to forget the image that had burned itself inside her brain.

It took only five minutes until Lena gave in and opened the message again. Taking the time to look at it until her eyes felt too heavy to keep them open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this took so long, life gets in the way sometimes.  
> This chapter we'll see a bit of Alex's backstory and a lot of gay mess. Enjoy!

\- Two years ago -

She was drinking to forget. Drinking to feel some of the weight being lifted off her shoulders at least for a short while.

“Don’t you have work tomorrow?” Lucy asked.

“Uhm… no, they changed my shift,” Alex quickly answered. 

This wasn’t the time and place to tell her best friend that she had lost her job once and for all. The worst possible thing had happened and Alex couldn’t even be mad at her bosses. They had warned her that this would happen. She had forgotten to show up on time, to show up at all, one too many times and she had no one to blame for it other than herself.

“Can I have some?” Lucy asked and let herself fall down on the couch of their tiny shared apartment.

Alex hugged the bottle of liqueur closer to her body. “Get your own. This is my emotional support vodka.”

Lucy snorted out a laughter and then still pried the bottle out of Alex’s hands to take a swig. She wasn’t questioning Alex’s moody behaviour, which was only one of the reasons Alex liked her. Moving in together had definitely been one of their better ideas.

Not much later, after deciding she had been social enough for one day, Alex decided to crawl back into the comfort of her own room. She climbed back into bed, pulled the blanket up all the way to her nose and started scrolling through her phone.  
For some reason she enjoyed looking at old pictures and videos, especially when she was drunk. Getting lost in the memories of better times calmed her.

She decided to post a photo of her and her sister Kara which they had taken the last time she had been to Midvale, at the beach behind their house. She looked happy in it, carefree. Nobody on her Instagram cared about her actual happiness right now, so she could just as well keep pretending.

Alex woke up a few hours later with a dry throat and a bladder that was about to burst. Groaning loudly, she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. The sun was already rising again but that was no reason to start her day just yet.  
Just as she wanted to close her eyes for a little longer, her phone lit up with a new notification from Instagram. A DM request from someone with a cryptic name.

_Hey beautiful, how much do you charge for a close up pic of your feet?_

Alex’s still drunk brain had to read the message multiple times before she registered what had been said. Hadn’t her friends joked about exactly this last weekend? She couldn’t really remember, she had been drunk there, too. It was probably Susan again, trying to mess with her.  
Her half drunk, half asleep mind shrugged it off, snapped a quick picture of her feet and sent it to the account before she could think about it again. A second later she added her venmo, requesting $50, and then closed the app. 

Susan was weird like that, but Alex would surely never back down from a challenge.

When she woke up once again a few hours later, the ceiling was still spinning in circles above her head. She searched for her phone under the blankets, trying to remember what day it was. There were only a few new texts, nothing too interesting until she saw a notification from her venmo account.

_Sebastian sent you $50_

“Who the fuck is Sebastian?” Alex muttered out loud. She rolled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. With coffee in her system it would be easier to think.

Her roommate Lucy was washing the dishes in the kitchen, humming along to some music, when Alex walked in. She poured some lukewarm coffee into a mug and sat down at the small table.

“Hey Lucy, do you know a Sebastian?” Alex picked up her phone again to look at the notification again. Maybe she’d missed something the first time. Maybe it had been a mistake?

“Nope, why?”

But Alex didn’t answer because she had opened Instagram to see a new DM had come in late last night.

_Keep them coming, babe. I’m ready to pay more._

Alex’s hard rate spiked when she read the message. This clearly wasn’t a prank. None of her friends would just send her money to mess with her. They were all too broke for that.  
But maybe, just maybe… she could send another picture just to be sure.

“Uhm… not important. Give me a second,” she mumbled and hurried back into her room.

It was a weird feeling that was spreading through her body. It was unsettling, as if she was doing something forbidden.  
She’d never understood people’s obsessions with various body parts before. But she wasn’t one to judge either. Alex closed her door and quickly sat on the bed. She pulled the covers back and snapped a couple more pictures of her feet. This time making sure that the lighting was alright. 

If this wasn’t a prank, maybe this would at least make a fun story to tell her friends later. And truth to be told, she could really use a few extra bucks right now. Without thinking too much about it, she sent another picture to the guy, apparently Sebastian, and quickly closed the app. It was time to get this thing out of her thoughts.

When another $50 were added to her account the next morning, the unsettling feeling disappeared altogether. Alex just couldn’t help the small voice at the back of her head that told her this was what she deserved.

\- Two years later -

She wasn’t ashamed of what she was doing. Never had been. There was nothing wrong with selling her body, something she had worked so hard for. But every now and then it still made her feel self-conscious, not that she would admit that to anybody.

Alex had been in this business for quite a while now, and it still worked out just fine for her. But this was the first time that she ever felt unsure how to approach things.  
She was staring at the number on her phone again. This was more than Max had ever even dreamed of giving to her. She had expected that Lena was loaded, but usually the more money someone had, the less likely they were to give it to someone else.  
She couldn’t accept this. It would make her feel bad to just take this without giving Lena anything in return. But she wasn’t sure what to give her either. Alex had noticed how the other woman’s eyes had travelled down her neck once or twice that night when they had met. And she knew how she usually dealt with that… 

Making a quick decision, Alex went to her closet to pull out the drawer that held her more… delicate pieces. She could just reuse one of her old pictures but because Lena had been so generous, Alex felt like she deserved something good.  
She didn’t know if this was what Lena wanted. If she was interested in her at all or if this would result in a giant awkward mess. But over time Alex had come to deal with people like this and so far, nobody had complained.  
After taking a few pictures, serving a few different poses, Alex sorted through them and then sent one to the number Lena had given her. She hoped that this time it actually was her personal cell phone, otherwise Lena’s assistant was about to get really lucky.

It didn’t take long for the three dots to appear next to Lena’s name, but then they disappeared again just as quickly. Apparently, the other woman started typing a few times but no message came through. Alex quickly turned her phone off and decided to go to bed before her panicked thoughts would get too overwhelming. She hoped she hadn’t ruined her chances of ever seeing her again.

It took almost full 24 hours until Alex heard from Lena again. The redhead had just stepped out of the shower after a long day at the lab, wanting nothing more than a glass of wine. But then her phone rang, interrupting her peaceful evening once again. Alex’s heartrate went through the roof when she saw that it was Lena. She took a deep breath and answered it.

“This is Alex.” 

“How much for you to go to dinner with me?”

Alex’s brain stopped for a solid second and she almost dropped her towel. This… was not what she had expected. Her heart beat quickened. She’d never met with a sugar mama in real life, so far, she’d only worked with men and even some of those never met her. But after all, she wanted to get to know Lena better, see what else was hiding in that huge brain of hers. 

“Straight to the point again, I see,” Alex tried to deflect.

“It works quite well in business. I didn’t know if you would consider this your business.”

“Fair enough,” Alex mumbled.

“So would you like to accompany me to dinner on Friday?” Lena asked again. “I’d love to get to know you better.”

Alex’s mind was weighing her options. She didn’t want to sound too pitiful and scream ‘yes’ right away (even though she wanted to do that).  
“Send me a nice dress and I’ll be there. Dinner is on you of course and everything that happens after… we’ll decide later.”

It was silent for a second. 

“I’ll see you on Friday then,” Lena said and hung up the phone. 

Alex released the breath she had been holding and dropped down on the couch, almost losing the towel that had halfway fallen off her body by now. What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

That night, Alex was unable to find rest. She was tossing and turning, her head constantly overthinking her interaction with Lena.

Did Lena expect them to have sex right away? Alex was no saint by any means but she also was not a prostitute. She wasn’t a one and done kind of person either. Thinking about it longer, she wasn’t sure what she wanted at all.  
And then there still was the fact that while she had certainly thought about it before, she’d never had a sugar baby relationship with a woman before. Only sleeping with men on the job made it easier to separate business and pleasure. And Alex had no idea how to keep it that way.

The week passed way too quickly for Alex’s liking. Between her job and her overwhelming social life, there wasn’t much time for her to sit back and relax.  
At first, she had tried to get around asking for help with her current… situation, but as she waited longer and longer, her confidence slowly left her. And there was only one person who actually knew what her ‘side-job’ entailed.

“So let me get this straight,” Lucy said and took a sip from her glass. “You accidentally picked up a hot woman who is also smart and crazy rich?”

“Yes.”

“And she paid your rent and offered you money to go on a date with her?”

“Yes.”

Lucy looked at her as if she’d gone crazy. “Dude, I really don’t see your problem.”

“I’ve never done this with a woman! I don’t know how to act. I don’t know what to expect.” Alex sighed loudly, “Men are so much easier to please and so much more predictable.”

“Aren’t you gay?!”

“Yes?” Alex answered sheepishly, almost making it sound like a question.

“Okay wow,” Lucy went to the fridge to grab the open bottle of wine but instead of filling up her glass, she took a swig straight from the bottle.

“Okay so,” Lucy started again after a while, “What would you do if this was a guy?”

Alex shrugged a little, “Send another picture to keep him interested before the first date.”

“Good, then that’s what you do. And if you feel comfortable enough on your date you ask her where this is supposed to go.”

Alex finally relaxed her shoulders and gave Lucy a small smile.

“And of course, I want to know all the juicy details afterwards,” her friend quickly added. “This is the first time you aren’t going out with a boring white dude. It’s finally getting interesting!”

Alex rolled her eyes and then shoved Lucy playfully before she grabbed her phone to search through some of her more recent pictures.

Trying not to think about it anymore, Alex quickly sent Lena another underwear photo of herself with a short text saying: _Still waiting for you to send me something to wear._

It made her feel calmer about the upcoming day. She had the upper hand in this. And while there was no response from Lena’s side, on Friday morning, Alex opened the door to find a large white package, with a single flower on top. Quickly, she carried it inside and ripped it open, not caring much that it would make her late for work.  
When Alex pulled out the contents of the package, a large grin spread on her face. Oh this would be a fun night.

Walking into the restaurant, Alex felt more powerful than ever. She could feel the way she was turning heads and what had once bothered her, now gave her all the confidence she needed.  
She didn’t even have to wait for half a minute until she was escorted to her table where Lena was already waiting for her. The woman was even more striking than she remembered and it took all her effort not to stare. When Alex was almost at the table, Lena finally looked up. Her lips instantly formed into a wide smile as her eyes roamed Alex’s body up and down.

“You look beautiful,” she said and got up to greet Alex with a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” Alex answered with a soft smile, her face suddenly feeling hot. “This was certainly a surprise, but I don’t mind it at all.”

She smirked at her companion as she smoothed out the non-existent wrinkles in her jacket. No man had ever asked to see her in a suit and then there was Lena. She was looking so fucking proud of herself and Alex would love to kiss that smirk right off her face.

“I already ordered some wine; I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

Alex quietly looked at the woman in front of her for a while, just taking her all in. It was crazy that she of all people wanted to even meet her, let alone pay for it. But Alex put that thought away for later and instead picked up the menu in front of her.

“So how was your week so far?”

“Do you really want to hear about boring business meetings? Because that is all my week consisted off.”

Alex simply shrugged, “I’d be happy to listen to whatever. We’ll be here for a while, because I don’t know if you know but I’m really bad at making decisions and this menu has around a hundred pages.”  
She held it up to emphasize her point and Lena instantly snorted out a laughter. In the same moment a waiter showed up with their wine and as hard as Alex tried, she just couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face.

It was easy to talk to Lena. There was no awkward small talk happening at all and Alex was surprised how quickly time could pass when she actually enjoyed herself.  
Lena even asked Alex to tell her more about her work at the lab and while most people found it boring, Lena seemed to be excited about sharing ideas with her.

“Without trying to make this awkward or anything,” Alex started after it had been quiet for a while. “What exactly are you looking for with me?”

Lena’s fork stopped halfway on the way to her mouth. She looked at Alex with wide eyes for a moment before she quickly caught herself. They were silent for a minute. Even the chatter around them had magically calmed down. Alex took another sip from her wine, trying to give Lena all the time that she needed.

“I just…” the brunette started before she cleared her throat once more. “I didn’t really know what to expect. Honestly, I didn’t think any of this would happen the way it did.” She trailed off, her eyes skipping around the table. “I think I just wanted a friend.”

“So you don’t want me to send you underwear pictures of me anymore?”

Lena opened her mouth but then paused to think for a moment. Alex’s lips split into a sly grin.

“I.. I can’t say that I don’t enjoy them,” Lena admitted slowly. “It was just not what I was looking for.”

“You know that people normally don’t go around and give other people money for no reason. They usually expect something in return.”

Lena stayed quiet after this. Slowly pushing a piece of salat back and forth with her fork.

“I guess I’m not used to getting something in return. But… but it’s a nice change.”

Alex’s eyes turned soft at the confession. 

“I like talking to you,” Lena continued, this time seeming surer of herself. “And I’d like to continue doing that. And I don’t mind paying you, either. Spoiling my friends is kind of my thing.”

Alex gave her a soft smile in return. “Alright, I like talking to you too.”

The redhead turned back to her dish but she could feel that Lena’s eyes never left her. A second later she could feel a foot slowly making its way up her leg. Goosebumps spread all over her body. Alex had no idea what was going on. She tried to pay it no attention, tried not to look at Lena at all.

“What do you think about friends with benefits?” Lena asked with a suddenly raspy voice.

Alex choked on her wine, coughing it all over her dessert. “Sorry,” she coughed out and accepted the tissue that Lena held out for her. A few people turned around to look at her. It didn’t quite give her the same powerful feeling it had at the beginning of the night. 

Alex tried to calm herself down. Gently, she wiped the wine off her chin while her brain was running a million options of things she could say. She looked back at Lena. The brunette had leaned back in her chair, looking at her with a certain smugness on her face. But Alex could see that it was only façade. There was so much more behind it.

“This can go in whichever direction you want,” she eventually said. Her eyes never leaving Lena’s. “You take the lead. We can go to your place, have a glass of whiskey and talk. I can leave right now, if you want to be alone. I’m ready for whatever you want. Well, maybe not everything but a lot of things.”

Lena relaxed her shoulders and offered Alex an almost shy smile. She didn’t seem like she knew what she wanted either. But then that shy smile was suddenly replaced by a perfectly confident smirk. The sudden change in attitude was a complete mystery to Alex but finding out what it meant had to wait because suddenly Lena was talking again.

“Do you want to come to my place?”

A soft smile spread on Alex’s face. “I’d love to.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's just ignore the fact that it's been three months, please.  
> Is it a masterpiece? No. But it's a finished chapter so I hope you enjoy it at least a little :)

The doors of the elevator had barely closed when Lena suddenly found her back pressed against the cold wall. Fear kicked in for a second (out of habit) before she felt hot breath on her skin. Oh. _Oh._

“Wait wait, hold on,” Lena said and pushed Alex back.

“Oh I’m sorry, I just assumed…” A blush rose to her cheeks.

“It’s alright, darling. You assumed correctly, let’s just... let’s just take this slow, okay?”

“Of course,” Alex mumbled and stepped to the side. After only a second, though, Lena’s hand slowly reached for Alex’s, squeezing it and making a smile appear on both their faces. 

“I can’t believe you get to have this view every day,” Alex said when Lena stepped on the balcony with two glasses in her hand. The redhead had her back turned towards Lena while she was looking out into the city at night. 

“You get quite used to it after a while,” Lena said and handed Alex one of the glasses.

“I don’t think I would ever get used to this.”

Lena had to smile at the way Alex’s eyes took in the city in front of them. She couldn’t quite imagine that it was so easy to make someone happy like that.

“Oh this is good stuff,” Alex said as she took a sip from her glass. “You know how to impress me.”

“Well, I do appreciate a woman with taste.”

Alex hummed in agreement and took another sip from her drink.

They stood there in silence for a while, listening to the distant sound of traffic far below them. 

After a few minutes of silence, Alex tried to move in a little closer to Lena. The brunette instantly blushed as she caught her eyes.

“You know, uhm, I actually thought about moving further towards the harbour. It may be a little far from my work but I love the smell of the ocean and the city can be quite loud, too. Maybe I should-“

“Lena?” Alex interrupted her softly, which made the brunette look up again. “Kiss me.”

Lena’s eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t waste one second. She grabbed Alex’s face and pressed her lips onto hers, kissing her like her life depended on it. Alex let out a little sigh as her hands came down to rest on Lena’s hips and pull her closer.

“Bedroom?” Lena breathed out without letting go. Alex hummed in agreement.

Alex crouched down a little to try and pick Lena up, but she made the deal without Lena’s tight dress.

“Oh my gosh, what are you doing?” Lena squeaked as she almost stumbled to the floor.

“Shit, sorry,” Alex exclaimed. “I wanted to carry you inside.”

Lena burst out laughing. She was still breathless and her lipstick was messed up. “Yeah, not in that dress, honey.”

Still laughing, she grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled her inside and through the hall towards the bedroom.

“If anything is off limits for you, or you don’t like something we’re doing then you need to tell me, okay?” Lena said and pressed another kiss on the redhead’s neck.

Alex gave her a grateful smile in return. “This is not my first rodeo.”

“Did you just call this a rodeo?”

“Yeah, I ruined it. Felt it as soon as I said it,” Alex said, wearing a wide grin on her face.

Lena shook her head slowly, not able to wipe the smile off her face. Before Lena could say anything else, her lips had been captured in yet another kiss. Her face was full of red hair as Alex started kissing her way down Lena’s neck. 

It took Alex a lot of willpower not to moan out loud. It was so easy to forget that this was supposed to be business and not pleasure.

“How about I show you what I can do and then you decide how much that was worth?” Alex’s husky voice made Lena’s heart rate spike.

“So we’re talking like 10 dollars?”

Alex gasped in fake offence and playfully shoved Lena on the bed. “Honey, for 10 dollars you get the right to look me in the eyes.”

Lena let out another loud laughter and pulled Alex close by tie and the redhead followed very willingly.

“Let me take care of you,” Alex mumbled into Lena’s ear, before zipping the brunette’s dress open.

Her voice and her soft touches made goose bumps rise all over Lena’s body. 

“Relax, I got you,” she could hear Alex say over and over again.

And for the first time in months, Lena let herself just fall. 

The first rays of the morning sun creeped their way into the bedroom through the large windows. Nobody had closed the curtains the past night, illuminating the bedroom so early in the morning. Alex blinked her eyes open as the noise of the traffic slowly got louder. It took her a second until she remembered where she was.

“Hey,” she whispered softly as the brunette next to her began to open her eyes as well.

Lena’s confused face slowly relaxed when she laid eyes on Alex.

“Damn, best $10 I’ve ever spent.”

“I hate you, you know that?” 

Lena threw her head back in a breathless laughter. Alex playfully shoved her, before she cuddled even closer to the brunette.

They stayed tangled together, wrapped up in each other’s arms and in silence, watching the sun rise and the city slowly come back to life.

“How did you end up doing what you’re doing?” Lena asked into the silence.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know why I like to spend my money on other people but you never told me how you got into this… scene.”

Alex was quiet for a while.

“I think it was mostly by accident. I never thought that people would pay actual money to see pictures of my feet, you know? It’s kind of weird… My friends were joking a lot about dropping out of college to become strippers.”

Lena hummed in agreement, nuzzling further into Alex’s neck.

“But I was young and dumb, or rather young and desperate. College wasn’t going well and I had just lost my job. I didn’t know how to pay for the classes I wasn’t even going to and when some creepy dude slid into my DMs, I just rolled with it. It’s not like I had anything to lose.”

Lena stayed quiet for a while. Just now realizing how different their worlds were.

“I never felt pressured to do it. I really enjoyed it most of the time,” Alex quickly said after Lena stayed silent. “I don’t regret anything,” she said with a little more force behind her voice now.

“Hey I’m not judging you,” Lena said and her voice was so soft that it made Alex’s strong armour crumple down right away. “Did you ever finish college?” the brunette asked instead.

Quickly, Alex nodded. “I took a break for a semester and then went back to finish my degree, yeah. Safe to say my mom was not amused, but I’ve given up on ever getting her approval.”

“Oh, that is something I can definitely relate to,” Lena murmured, which made Alex smile.

“Do you want to hear more sob stories or are you ready for another round?”

Lena opened and closed her mouth without saying anything. She had so many more questions but who was she to refuse a gorgeous naked woman’s wishes?

It ended up being a very short round, because all of the sudden Alex’s phone blew with tons of messages from her sister, forcing them to stop so Alex could take a look at what was going on. 

“I’m so sorry, I have to go,” Alex rushed to say while she jumped out of bed. Lena tried her best not to look to sad about it. Instead, she sat up and watched Alex collect her clothes from all over the room. 

“My sister is about to call the police if I don’t show up at home.”

“Older sister?”

“Younger. I don’t know why she thinks she’s the adult here.”

“Someone has to be, I guess,” Lena responded with a smug grin on her face. In response, Alex rolled her eyes and quickly buttoned up her shirt. She could feel Lena’s eyes still on her, observing her closely.

“I’ll call you later, alright?”

Alex rushed over to press one last lingering kiss on Lena’s lips. The brunette smiled a little bigger and pulled the bedsheets further up her chest. She already felt addicted to Alex, with no way out. It had been doomed from the very beginning.

For the rest of the day, Alex stayed at home, doing laundry and all the other tasks she had been avoiding for too long. And even if she didn’t really feel like it, she invited her sister over for a spontaneous sister night at her place. After all, they rarely got to see each other and that was mostly Alex’s fault.  
So, a few hours later, the two sisters were sitting on the couch, stuffing their faces with popcorn and watching a movie. They ended up having a good time and Alex felt herself not thinking about Lena for once. That was until her phone lit up with a new text.

_Check your mail box._ It read. Nothing more. 

Curiosity sparked in Alex’s chest. Instead of waiting until Kara had left, she excused herself and went down to the mail box right away. Kara only threw her a curious glance but didn’t comment on it.  
In the mail box, Alex found a small brown package. Her first thought was cash, but it felt too uneven for that. Her curiosity got the better of her, because she couldn’t even wait until she was back in her apartment. The second she stepped into the elevator; she ripped the envelope open. 

“Oh no you didn’t,” Alex mumbled as she pulled out car keys with an Audi logo on them. 

“Alex? Where did you go?” She could hear Kara’s voice when she walked back into the apartment.

“What’s that?” Kara asked when she spotted the keys in Alex’s hand. 

“That… that is a very good question.”

Her sister rushed over and snatched the keys out of her sister’s hand.

“Oh my gosh, did Max buy you a car? I thought you were broken up?” Kara asked with wide eyes. 

“Uhm, well…”

“Oh my gosh, I wanna see it! Let’s go downstairs!”

And before Alex could object, her sister was already out of the door.

Alex would be lying if she said that this wasn’t the nicest car, she’d ever had the pleasure to sit in. She took her sister for a ride around town to test it out right away. They sped across the city, blasting *NSYNC (thanks to Kara, who figured out how to connect her phone to the car way too quickly), and for a moment it made Alex forget about all the fights they’d had before.

“The car isn’t from Max, is it?” Kara asked when they pulled back into the garage of the apartment building.

Alex glanced over at her and was met with a pair of concerned eyes. Her sister was way too good at reading her.

“Her name is Lena,” shesaid quietly. “I met her at a party and apparently she likes to make large gifts.” 

Instead of responding, Kara let out a small sigh.

“Don’t look at me like that. I don’t need your judgement.”

“I’m not judging you.”

“Yes, you are! You never stopped judging me from the moment I first told you about this.”

“I’m just worried about you. I don’t want anybody to take advantage of you like that.”

Alex sighed, letting her head drop into her hands for a second.

“You know I always support you, no matter what you do,” Kara said softly. “I’m just worried about you. I want you to be happy, and to be safe.”

“I know, I know, but you can trust me when I say I’m alright. I’m not good with real relationships, you know that.”

“Just because that’s what you tell yourself, dummy.”

“Don’t call me dummy,” Alex mumbled, but had her arms already wrapped around Kara for a tight hug. Finally, letting her shoulders relax again.

“I love you, dummy.”

“I love you, too.”

Of course, Alex had followed up that gift with a few very grateful photos but she still got no response from Lena until a few days later. This time, the message came in the form of a beautiful flower bouquet, that was delivered right to her desk at work. 

_I’m attending a gala this weekend and I’d love for you to be my date._

Alex read the card over and over again with a huge smile on her face. As soon as she made sure her boss was nowhere in sight, she pulled out her phone. 

_You’re slacking. Following up a car with flowers? Really? She sent, laughing about herself a little._

It took Lena only a few seconds to respond to her. _Were you expecting something bigger?_

_Yeah, a boat maybe._

_Are we talking bow rider? Cabin cruiser? Catamaran? Yacht? Something bigger?_

_I don’t know what half of these are. I was clearly joking._

But even after waiting for ten minutes there was no response and Alex got nervous.

_Please don’t buy me a boat.  
Omg Lena don’t buy me a boat!  
Lena????_

A few days later (and thankfully no boat in sight) Alex finally met Lena again in person. She’d been picked up in a limousine with a personal driver and Alex had never felt more out of place. But finally seeing Lena’s face again made it worth it.  
They greeted each other with a chaste kiss on the cheek, not wanting to give in to all their emotions in front of the paparazzi.

“I missed you,” Lena murmured into Alex’s ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“You’re looking beautiful tonight, Miss Luthor,” Alex whispered back. Her eyes were roaming up and down Lena’s body, making the brunette blush.

“I’m going to introduce myself to the new investors now, before I get too tempted to rip that dress off of you right here right now. Do you want to come along?”

Alex snorted out a laughter. “Eh, I’d rather check out the buffet, thank you.”

She left Lena mingling her way through new business partners while she went off to try out the different hors d'oeuvres that had just been served. The free food was only one of the many things she loved about these events. 

She was about to go for a second dessert, when, suddenly, her eyes fell on him. Alex’s stomach turned around as she saw Max Lord walk into her direction with a smug grin on his face. There was nowhere she could’ve escaped to; it was already too late.

“Alex, my dear, long time no see. How did you get in here?” He asked loudly once he was close enough for her to hear him. “Didn’t know they let anybody in here these days.”

“What do you want, Max?” Alex said in a low voice.

“I’m assuming you’re not here to apologize to me?”

“Why would _I_ apologize for _you_ being a dick? Don’t be so delusional.” The redhead turned around to hopefully escape to the bar and get another drink but Max followed close on her heels.

“Delusional?” He spat out with a laughter. “You’re the one who pretends to belong here when in truth, you’re just a whore!”

“Bite me, Max,” Alex snarled, but judging by the look on his face he would probably enjoy that. “I think everybody here will be pleased to know that you couldn’t find yourself a date that you didn’t have to pay for.”

He took a step closer, a devious look in his eyes.  
“I could ruin you.”

“Honestly as long as you do it from a distance I literally don’t care. I don’t want to see you anymore.”

Suddenly, a very familiar voice appeared behind her and it instantly made her shoulders relax. “Is everything alright over here?”

“Ah Luthor, no surprise seeing you here. Have you already met-“

“Alex? Yes, indeed I have. She’s my girlfriend.”

The smile slipped from Max’s face before he caught himself.

“Girlfriend, huh? Does she offer a discount for that?”

He hadn’t even fully finished his sentence, when a Cuba Libre flew right into his face. He screamed in shock, causing a few people to turn around and stare at the small group.

“Oops,” Lena said. “How very clumsy of me.”

Alex couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She didn’t hear the rest of Max’s curses before Lena quickly dragged her away.

“Your girlfriend, huh?” Alex asked with a sly grin once they were outside. The large terrace was lit by beautiful fairy lights, and still, they were the only ones out there.

“Well, I couldn’t let anybody think that you were… you know.”

Alex was quiet for a moment. 

“It doesn’t matter what you call it, but I do sell my body for money and I’m well aware of it.”

Lena quickly nodded, but Alex wasn’t done. “And some of my friends do the same. Of course, I don’t want to be outed like that in front of the entire upper class of National City but I’ve said it before, I’m not ashamed of what I do.”

“You try to justify yourself so often that I’m starting to think that you are.”

Alex stared at her for a while, with her brows furrowed.

“So you’re saying I should be ashamed?”

“No, Alex, that’s not what I meant.”

Alex let out a tired, almost defeated sigh. “I already have to constantly justify myself in front of my sister, I really don’t feel like doing this right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Lena said. Her voice was so soft and caring that Alex wanted to cry. She simply nodded and tried to force a smile on her face. 

“I’m going home now, if that’s alright.”

“Yeah, of course, I can have my driver take you-“

But Alex had already turned around and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took quite a while and it's still a huge mess but I couldn't bear to make you wait any longer. I haven't really been able to find my love for writing lately but I'm hoping that it'll come back to me.  
> I hope you like the last chapter of this story and let me know what you think!

Days turned into weeks. Unread messages were left ignored and every now and then a courier brought a bouquet of flowers or a new package that Alex was too afraid to open.  
She felt lost. As if she was in college again with no future to look forward to.

“Finally! The pizza is getting cold!”

“Hello to you too, Kara,” Alex said when she entered the apartment. She gave her sister a quick hug and threw her coat over a chair. The only good thing that came out of hiding from most of the world was that she finally got to spend more time with her sister again. Kara seemed suspicious as to why that was but she never asked about it, giving Alex time to process things for herself first.

“Why are you so late anyways? Didn’t you finish work like an hour ago?”

Alex sighed and dropped down on the couch. Still perplex about what had happened that day.

“They offered me a new job. Like an actual paid job where I get my own research team and a laboratory.”

“Oh my gosh, Alex that’s amazing,” Kara said and threw her hands around her sister’s back. “You’ve wanted this for so long.”

“I know.” 

Kara’s face fell when she saw her sister’s sad expression.

“What is it? Are you not happy?”

Alex grabbed a slice of pizza simply so she wouldn’t have to answer right away. It was already a bit soggy and cold but she still ate the entire slice without a break.

“I think I have to give up being a sugar baby,” she eventually said into the silence. “It just doesn’t make me feel good anymore, like it used to. But…” she trailed off. 

Before she knew it, Kara’s arms were wrapped around her shoulders and she could feel tears stinging in her eyes.

“But that’s good, isn’t it?” Kara carefully asked. “If you have a new job that pays you enough, you don’t need to rely on something that doesn’t make you happy.”

Alex slowly nodded. She knew her sister was right but she wasn’t sure if she could explain all her feelings so they would make sense to a person outside of her own brain.

Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang.

“Hold up, I gotta open the door,” Kara said and jumped up, making Alex’s head plop down on the couch.

The redhead only responded with an annoyed grumble.

“Uhm, I’m pretty sure it’s for you, Alex,” Kara said when she returned to the couch. Alex raised her head a little to see Kara holding a giant bouquet of tulips. 

“I’ll go find a vase… or do you want me to throw them away?”

Alex didn’t answer. This was wrong. She was the one who needed to apologize, not Lena. But she’d known Lena long enough to know that the CEO was very bad at understanding any kinds of social cues. 

“No, don’t throw them out,” she responded quietly.

Kara sighed deeply. “Okay Alex please tell me what’s wrong with you! I’m so worried about you.”

And finally, when she looked into her sister’s worried face, the wall around her crumbled and she spilled everything that she had kept to herself in the past few months. About the things she’d said to Lena. About the way the other woman made her feel with a simple smile into her direction. And when everything was out in the open, Alex felt… lighter.

“But then why haven’t you gone back to apologize, yet?” Kara asked carefully. 

“If it wasn’t for this stupid sugar baby thing, she would never want to have to do anything with me, let alone date me. She’s… her and I’m just me.” 

“Alex, you are amazing. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

And after a pause Kara continued: “Would you want to be with her?”

And that was exactly the question Alex had been so afraid of. “Yes” she whispered and Kara instantly hugged her even tighter.

Lena was expecting a lot of things when she opened her door. But not Alex, with a scowl on her face, holding out a package towards her.

“That’s not how you solve problems,” the redhead said and Lena’s eyes fell on the package once again.

“Did you not like them? I can get you a different-“

“Not everything gets fixed when you throw money at it.” 

Alex sighed and dropped her arm. Lena was still looking at her with a mix of confusion and desperation and Alex almost felt bad for her. 

“Look, I’m not mad at you, I don’t know why you think that I am. I just had a lot to think about and I needed some time alone.”

Lena quickly nodded. Finally, she reached out to take the package from Alex’s hands. It was the necklace from Tiffany’s she’d bought the week before.

It was silent for a few seconds. Lena didn’t know if it was her place to say something now.

“How about,” Alex started again slowly. “How about you come over to my place tomorrow. Some of my friends are coming over for drinks and afterwards we could talk it out.”

“That would be lovely,” Lena responded with a raspy voice.

“Good.” Alex nodded once more and then turned around to leave a confused Lena standing in her doorway.

“I still don’t really understand your plan.”

“It wasn’t really a plan, just an idea. And you jumped right on it so don’t blame this on me,” Kara said without looking up. She was too occupied with assembling the best possible playlist for a night of drinks with friends.

“I said Lena and social situations don’t mix well and now we’re throwing her head first into a social gathering with people she doesn’t know?”

“Hey don’t panic, Alex. It’s all going to be alright,” Kara assured her. “We’re just trying to see if she fits in well with us normal folks so we know if she’d be a good girlfriend for you.”

Alex buried her face in her hands, groaning out loud. This plan was set up to fail but it was probably too late to cancel the entire thing.

She hadn’t even finished her thought, when there was a knock on the door. Kara quickly jumped up to open it while Alex smoothed out her shirt once more.

When she turned around to see who it was, her mouth almost fell open. There was Lena Luthor wrapped in the most extra burgundy fur coat, her painted lips formed into a little smirk.

“Hi! Lena, right?” Kara’s bubbly voice interrupted Alex’s thoughts. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.” 

Lena quickly responded before her eyes moved past Kara and found Alex’s nervous figure behind her.

“Hey uhm, you look good,” Alex slowly said with a blush on her cheeks. A perfectly shaped eyebrow was raised before Lena gave her a smirk and returned the compliment.

With a little more awkward stumbling over her words, Alex somehow managed to get Lena to sit on the couch and put a glass of wine in her hands.

“It’s actually just my sister and my best friend Lucy tonight, Winn and James couldn’t make it,” Alex eventually got out.

“Should I have brought something?” Lena asked quietly so Kara wouldn’t hear her. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted that anymore so I didn’t but if you want I can still get-“

“Oh no, it’s alright,” the redhead interrupted her. “Let me treat you for once.”

Lena gave a sweet, yet still confused smile in return just as the front door flew open with a bang.

“What’s up fuckers!”

Lena jumped a little at the sudden yell and Alex dropped her head into her hands. This night had certainly not been her brightest idea.

“Lucy!” Kara squealed and jumped right into the small woman’s arms. “Did you bring my snacks?”

Lucy rolled her eyes and handed over the brown paper bag she’d been holding.

Over the next few hours Lena visibly relaxed. There were still some communication issues when it came to pop culture references but Alex was very happy to explain them all to her. Overall, Alex was excited about how well everything was going so far.  
That was until she came back for the bathroom to see Lucy holding a joint in front of Lena’s face. The woman in question looking very out of her element again.

“Have you really never tried?” Lucy asked with a large grin on her face.

Lena simply shrugged it off. “I never saw the appeal.”

“Don’t let Lucy trick you into doing something you don’t want to do,” Alex said as she sat back down on the couch. She grabbed the bottle of wine from the table to refill all their glasses.  
But Lena still took the joint between her lips and tried to draw a breath. Immediately she started coughing as the burning sensation hits the back of her throat. While Lucy started snickering loudly, Alex took the joint from her and gently rubbed her back. 

“Nice try, though,” she said with a grin.

“Oh my gosh the food is here!” Kara suddenly yelled as the doorbell rang and bolted towards it.

“Is she always that excited?” Lena asked, eyes fixed on the blonde that was a second away from hugging the delivery driver.

“Just about food and literally everything else,” Alex answered and got up to get some plates.

Lena’s eyes followed her to the kitchen. For a moment she felt a bit jealous of the love Alex held for her sibling. But then Lucy interrupted her thoughts by loudly asking for her favourite sex position.

(“Lucy! Can’t you be normal for one night?”  
“I was normal yesterday when you didn’t have time for me! I’m just trying to see if the two of you are compatible.”  
“I hate you.”  
“I love you, too.”)

Lena’s eyes were still fixed on the ceiling. Alex watched her quietly counting the cracks in the paint.

“Hey Alex?” Lena asked after a while. Her voice soft and sleepy.

“Mh?”

“Did you know that you are like salted caramel? Sweet with your cute smile and your warm hugs and all but also salty and… and mysterious and sarcastic.” 

Alex snorted out another loud laughter. “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s true, though,” Lena mumbled, already closing her eyes. “Can we get ice cream?” she added after a few seconds.

“Sure darling,” Alex responded. She took her time brushing her hand through Lena’s hair once more before she got up to see if they had any snacks left.

The first thing Lena noticed when she woke up was her incredibly dry mouth. And as she tried to reach for the glass of water, she usually kept on her night stand, the second thing she noticed was that she was in an unfamiliar place.

Suddenly being alarmed, she opened her eyes a little wider, even though the bright sunlight coming from the window to her left was too bright for her eyes. She looked around, but when her eyes fell on the person next to her, she visibly relaxed. The familiar redhead had her mouth hanging halfway open, breathing softly into her pillow. Lena’s heart made a quick little jump, that she couldn’t quite explain. But it was too early in the morning to think about its meaning so she simply pulled the covers up to her chin and scooted closer to Alex so she could wrap an arm around her and peacefully drift back to sleep.

The next time she woke up, it was to the sound of 80s pop music and the smell of burnt toast. Which, to Lena, were two completely unfamiliar things. She dragged herself out of bed and walked into the direction of the music. And there was Alex, singing and dancing along to the song while cracking some eggs into a pan.

“Good Morning,” Lena said. Alex seemingly jumped and dropped the egg she was holding. 

“You scared the shit out of me,” she laughed breathlessly.

“What? You already forgot about me?” Lena said teasingly and pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips met only for a second, but somehow it felt entirely domestic.

“Breakfast is almost ready, so if you want to freshen up before, you know where the bathroom is,” she said and then continued singing to the next song that came up.

“Do you like the eggs?” Alex asked, pouring more orange juice into her glass.

“They’re not terrible.”

“Gee, thank you.”

Lena’s lips spread into a grin. “Of course I like the eggs.”

“So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” Alex sad when she set her cutlery down.

Lena was suddenly alert again. Good things never lasted long enough for her to enjoy a breakfast without worries.

“I’m really sorry that I’ve been so distant. I’ve been really stressed lately and I did a lot of thinking.”  
Lena nodded slowly, not daring to say a word.

“I’ve been trying to find a real job for the past few weeks. I sent out some applications, and I got the one I really wanted.”

“Why? Was the money I sent you not enough? I don’t mind giving you more, you just have to ask.”

“No, no, that’s not it. I’ve been trying to find a job because I don’t want to be your sugar baby anymore.”

Lena’s face fell instantly. There was no point trying to hide feelings.

“I want to take you out on a date and maybe possibly be your girlfriend instead?” The last part of the sentence was rushed, as if Alex was trying to get it out in the open quickly, before she could stop herself.

“Wait, you what?”

“Look, I really like you, Lena. And this is more than a job for me. If you don’t feel the same way then that’s okay, too. We don’t have to ever see each other again, you can walk out, no hard feelings.”  
Alex paused for a second, but not long enough to give Lena time to speak as well. “But I’ve grown to really like you and I think … I think we would be good together.”

Lena looked at her with big eyes like a deer caught in the headlights.

“So if you don’t want any gifts anymore, what would you get out of this?”

“You.”

Lena was stunned silent. She finally put her cutlery down as well and nervously rubbed her hands together. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment, piecing together everything that had happened since she met Alex.

“Remember that first night you slept over? And I explained my upcoming business deals? You just talked back like it was nothing, you called me out on my bullshit. You told me YOUR opinion instead of telling me what I likely want to hear.”

Alex nodded and smiled at the memory. 

“That was the moment I knew you were special.”

“You’re keeping me around to call you out on your bullshit? I see.” Alex responded with a grin.

“Amongst other reasons. Also our favourite sex positions are apparently very compatible.”

“Oh my gosh,” Alex mumbled as she dropped her head in her hands. “So you’re saying you’d like to continue seeing my face, did I get that right?” Alex quickly changed the topic again.

“Yes, I would very much enjoy that.”

The redhead’s lips spread into a smile. She reached across the table and took Lena’s hand in hers.

“Lena Luthor, would you like to go on a date with me on which we eat cheap food-truck-dinner, don’t talk about work and bitch about the happy couples in the park?”

“Am I allowed to bring you flowers?”

“Only if they’re from the supermarket.”

“They sell flowers at the supermarket?”

“Oh, you have so much to learn,” Alex answered with a grin. The sight made Lena smile so wide it made her face hurt.

“Then yes, I would love to go on that very particular date with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this and shoutout again to @im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall ! I hope you're well and that you enjoyed this at least a little bit.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you think!


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